Manufacturing & The Economy

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 3.1% in the third quarter of 2012 (that is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3%.

The GDP estimate is based on more complete source data than were available for the "second" estimate issued last month. In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.7%. The third estimate has not greatly changed the general picture of the economy for the third quarter except that personal consumption expenditures is now showing a modest pickup, and imports is now showing a downturn.